The Arnold Expo 2010 has officially come and gone and was another huge success.  Thanks to those of you who stopped to visit our booth with both MHM and Muscleology.  The Nitro-Pro and Lipoburn samples were a big hit with everyone who tried them.  Keep in mind that right now we have an exclusive sale on the Muscleology Lean Out stack for $100!  We also had a lot of help from Kari Hoyda over the weekend as well.  Be sure to check out her site for info and picture galleries.

This year was no different from any other in that it attracted well over 100,000 visitors and several vendors old and new.  There were several new products that you will be seeing more of on our site and we should have some product reviews up soon!

WEC 47 comes crashing into Columbus, OH this weekend, the home of MHM.  This is also Arnold Sports weekend so it is sure to be an exciting event.  The Arnold has attracted UFC the last few years and has always done well and this year WEC should be no exception. 

There are a lot of good matches on the card including Dominick Cruz and Brian Bowles which figures to be the biggest fight of the night.  You can check out the whole breakdown of the card on ESPN.

Look for MHM at the Arnold Expo all 3 days where we will be partnering with Muscleology where we will be exclusively offering their new lean out stack for $100.  Should be a great weekend!

No matter if your goal is to gain muscle, lose weight or just maintain an overall healthy lifestyle, it is essential to drink water.  The daily recommended amount was always thought to be about 8 cups of water a day, but if you have an active lifestyle and/or follow a high protein diet, that number should be closer to 1.5-2 Gallons a day.  This may sound like a ton but is really quite reachable.  Even items such as coffee, juice and tea would be included in this but be careful of the sugar and calories.

Try carrying a bottle of water with you and keeping a reusable bottle at your home or office.  Also try to get a glass in with every meal or snack.  Certain foods such as lettuce, watermelon and broccoli also have a high water content to help you get to your daily goals. 

You might be making a lot more trips to the bathroom but your body will thank you in the long run.

While slamming a 12 pack every night might be detrimental to one’s health, a few beers here and there may actually be good for your health.  According to a recent article from the Journal of Science of Food and Agriculture, beer contains a large amount of silicon in soluble form.  So this probably has you wondering, what does that have to do with my diet?

Well, beer in western countries has been known to be made with large amounts of hops, or flowers often used to flavor our favorite malted beverage.  These hops are known to be full of dietary silicon – oftentimes four times the amount found in malt. This dietary silicon found in the hops has been found to promote healthy bones!

So while it may not be in your best interest to use the local watering hole to get you vitamins, it is good to know that beer (in moderation) may actually be good for you!

Whey protein is by far the most common on the market and is very effective, but don’t overlook Casein protein.  While you may have seen Casein in some form before, many people don’t know what it is or when to use it.  Casein can be found in many dairy products, most notable milk.  This is a slow digesting protein that releases into your body over a much longer period of time than Whey protein.  So when would you want to use such an item?  The answer is multiple times thoughout the day.  When you are between meals and just want some quick protein to drink, Casein can give you that full fulling until your next meal.  Because of its slow digestion, it is also great before bed and won’t leave you with a full stomach.  Research also shows that taking a scoop of Whey and Casein together post workout, has been shown to increase muscle more than either protein taken alone.

When trying to cut calories and follow a diet, alcohol is one item that is always tough to cut out.  While the best option is to not drink at all, for most people this is not reality.  There are now several low carb beers on the market with everything from Michelob Ultra, Bud Select, Etc. but your best options may be to stick to wine or liquor.  Wine is the best option at about 100 calories for glass and under 5g of carbs per serving.  To stick with liquor, Vodka, Gin, Whiskey and White Rum all have under 100 calories and 0g carbs per serving.  If drinking liquor straight is not for you, try a diet soda or even soda water.  Even with these diet friendly choices it is still key not to go overboard (for your diet or the hangover) but try these options next time rather than the Light beer.

Those of you who think starving yourself to lose weight are only hurting the cause by skipping meals – especially breakfast.  Getting a good blend of protein and carbs first thing in the morning is crucial.  Your body is coming off of a fast from the previous night and will begin burning muscle if it is not supplied with the right nutrition.  Also, the longer you wait to refuel your body, the more likely it is to store these calories as fat. 

If you want to maintain lean muscle, try taking a scoop of Casein protein before going to bed.  Upon waking, one of the best sources of protein is Whey as it will get into your body faster than any other protein source.  Try rounding it out with some oats or fresh fruit for a good start to your day.

While February is not normally the time of year that we begin thinking about pools and beaches, if you want to be in prime shape when the warm weather is here then it should be.  While low carb diets, weight training and cardio programs are all necessary to help in achieving this, a few supplements can help you along the way.  MHM offers many great fat burners that can be very effective but if you want to try creating your own “Ripped Stack” there are 4 key supplements that you must use.  Try the following stack from the December issue of M&F:

Carnitine–1-3g w/ Breakfast, Pre+Post Workout, Dinner

CLA–1-3g w/ Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Forskolin–20-50mg 2-3 times per day (1 Pre-Workout)

Green Tea Extract–500-1000mg 2-3 per day before meals.  (1 30-60 min. before workout).

Check out this product presentation from BSN.  They profile their groundbreaking Volumaize technology.  Click the image above to watch.

That daily Diet Coke is doing you more harm than good.  Recent studies have found that drinking pop daily can be extremely detrimental to one’s health.  Drinking soft drinks in excess has been connected to heart disease, obesity, and even type-II diabetes. Many people fail to understand the process the body takes to digest carbonated soft drinks.  Below is an excerpt from Dr. Mao’s article.  Click here to read more.

Most soft drinks contain a high amount of simple sugars. The USDA recommendation of sugar consumption for a 2,000-calorie diet is a daily allotment of 10 teaspoons of added sugars. Many soft drinks contain more than this amount!

Just why is too much sugar so unhealthy? Well, to start, let’s talk about what happens to you as sugar enters your body. When you drink sodas that are packed with simple sugars, the pancreas is called upon to produce and release insulin, a hormone that empties the sugar in your blood stream into all the tissues and cells for usage. The result of overindulging in simple sugar is raised insulin levels. Raised blood insulin levels beyond the norm can lead to depression of the immune system, which in turn weakens your ability to fight disease.

Continue reading at Yahoo.com